CCTV shows assault and abuse dangers binmen face at work

Dublin residents have taken to loading bin trucks themselves

Ryan Nugent

Dublin's leading bin company has hit out at a number of incidents of assault and threatening behaviour on its staff in recent months.

Greyhound Recycling released CCTV footage from its waste collection trucks.

The company said a spate of incidents have taken place and is asking for garda help to protect staff.

A spokesman told the Herald there have been seven incidents of assaults on staff.

Greyhound managing director John Brosnan said this was a notable increase.

The company has reported all the incidents to gardai.

One man tosses his bin bag on to a truck

"Our crews are experiencing an increase in threatening behaviour," said Mr Brosnan.

"We have a duty of care to the health and safety of our employees.

"We have reported the incidents to the gardai and also hope for assistance from local representatives.

Suspending

A Greyhound staff member is assaulted while on duty

"However, we may be forced to consider suspending collections on some roads.

"We are calling on people to respect our crews while they do a difficult job."

A spokesman for Greyhound told the Herald last night of incidents that have been captured on the CCTV footage showing men, women and children preventing the collection trucks from moving in certain parts of the city.

He said cars have also been used to block the path of the trucks.

The spokesman added that the non-payment of waste charges was a serious issue that affected not only the homeowners in question but the entire area.

He also said issues such as fly-tipping have become much more prevalent in recent months.

Gardai were contacted by the Herald in relation to the issues raised by Greyhound, but said they did not comment on named individuals or companies.

The Department of Environment was also contacted but no response was provided at the time of going to print.

The news comes less than a month after a father-of-five was sentenced to two years in prison for drunkenly assaulting a Greyhound staff member.

John Morley, of Deanstown Drive, Finglas, was jailed after he and two others assaulted a Greyhound worker.

The attack happened after they came across a bin that had been blacklisted by the company for non-payment of waste charges.

The incident, which was described by a judge as "deeply disturbing", happened at Virginia Park on August 5, 2015.

Morley (31) had 20 previous convictions.

Fire

The incident took place after the bin was removed from the truck by Greyhound staff who had noticed it had been blacklisted.

A sticker was then placed on the bin to alert the owner.

Three men approached the bin crew complaining to the victim's colleague that the bin was not being collected.

He explained the situation and the men then began pushing the refuse collectors.

Two of the men started emptying the bin into the back of truck.

One of them held a cigarette lighter in his hand and asked the crew if they wanted him to start a fire.

The court heard that the victim managed to call gardai before one of the men tried to punch him.

He avoided the blow but fell over. He was on the ground being kicked by the men when gardai arrived.

Morley told gardai he had been defending himself.

Last February, two co-accused received partially suspended three-year sentences for their roles in assaulting the bin man.